Edgewalker
Edgewalker was an Elder God and an ancient inhabitant of the Shadow realm. He was often mistaken for a T'lan Imass as his appearance was essentially that of a desiccated corpse.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 1, UK PB p.569Night of Knives, Chapter 3 His origins were unknown, however he had existed for a long time. Telorast and Curdle had mentioned that they were in his "employ".The Bonehunters, Chapter 1 He indicated that he was bound and imprisoned in service of Shadow just as tightly as Jhedel, and he had been so for a very long time. During his days, Malaz was not an Island, but attached to the mainland.Night of Knives, Prologue He also seemed to hint that he had once ruled Shadow.Night of Knives, Chapter 3 His body was described as tatters of rotted sinew and strips of skin that were motionless upon the bones of temple, cheek and jaw. He spoke in a broken, rasping voice. Strands of hair dangled and drifted from his head, and he wore rotted moccasins. His eyes were withered dark. His right leg was twisted and he wore tattered remains of what might have once been thick cloth over armour of leather and scale. His arms were naked, desiccated and cured to little more than leather-clad bones. He wore a bronze and verdigrised helm and the face disclosed only empty pits, nose a gaping cavern, lips dried and withdrawn from carried teeth. He carried a rust-bitten sword by his side.Night of Knives, Prologue, UK HB p.7 His uncanny prescience appeared like mind reading to some, but Edgewalker attributed it to his extraordinary age. All patterns were known to him as he had observed them played out countless times before.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.74 Edgewalker called the Hounds of Shadow "kin" and "fellow slaves to Shadow." He insisted they would never hurt him, even if ordered by the ruler of Shadow.Night of Knives, Epilogue, US TPB p.278 Yet the Hounds treated him warily, stalking him for their own amusement.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.72 Jhenna called him 'Tracer of Edges'.Night of Knives, Chapter 5 He spoke archaic Talian.Night of Knives, Chapter 3 In The Bonehunters ] Edgewalker joined Cotillion in order to witness the impending conversation between Cotillion and three chained Eleint. Edgewalker begrudgingly gave their names, Kalse, Eloth and Ampelas, but refused to explain why they were chained or why he was interested in the meeting. Cotillion commenced negotiations with the chained Eleint under Edgewalker's eye.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2 Edgewalker had commented on the nature of Shadow and what it hid that the two new rulers of Shadow could not see. Discovering the motivations of the three Eleint, who had come to take the Throne of Shadow in order to heal Emurlahn, Cotillion surmised that they were not interested in just healing the realm, but also who was sitting on the Throne after that, which took Edgewalker slightly by surprise. All the conversation led to the question of whether the Crippled God was an Elder God (an elemental force) or not, and whether he could be killed. Ampelas then revealed that a sundered realm was the weakest of all, which was why the Crippled God was working through it. This was the piece of information that Cotillion had needed.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2 As they walked away, Edgewalker commented that he had underestimated Cotillion, and asked him why he needed the information. Being asked by Cotillion to give some information about himself in return, Edgewalker indicated that he himself could be considered an elemental force and that he might be inclined to help the two of them, if the need should arise. When Cotillion explained that the Throne of Shadow and First Throne of the Imass were under assault, Edgewalker said he would give the matter some consideration.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2 In Toll the Hounds Edgewalker was called in by Hood to what Edgewalker described as mitigation. He was witness to a meeting between Shadowthrone and Hood. They were waiting, and were finally joined by someone who arrived to the sound of wagon wheels and rustling chains.Toll the Hounds, Prologue In Dust of Dreams Telorast and Curdle revealed that the two Eleint sisters had sought the Throne of one of the fragments of Emurlahn. Edgewalker had confronted the two and had given them a choice: Kilmandaros and her chains or Anomander Rake and Dragnipur. The two had chosen the Chains.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 21 In The Crippled God Edgewalker and Cotillion discussed 'failure' early on. Cotillion thought of Edgewalker as 'the deathless guardian'. While Edgewalker thought Cotillion would fail in his upcoming endeavors even should he succeed in convincing the three Eleint to assist him, Cotillion countered saying he didn't have to lose either.The Crippled God, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.4 In Night of Knives He met Jhedel, a former ruler of Shadow who had been imprisoned by the House, and felt that someone might attempt to take the throne when the Shadow Moon occurred.Night of Knives, Prologue He spoke with Kiska, when she had been swept by a Shadow storm. He also identified himself as someone who was responsible for sending entities alien to Shadow, out of it, and that he was a slave to Shadow in his own way. He then sent Kiska back since she was imminent danger of attack by the Hounds of Shadow.Night of Knives, Chapter 3 He then encountered Temper when he slew a creature who he described as ‘Disgusting parasites’ and 'trespassers' to Shadow. He was present at the site of the battle between Temper and Jhenna, when Jhenna bought Temper to the edges of Omtose Phellack whose boundaries, during the Night of Conjunction, came close to Shadow's own boundaries. When Jhenna tried to convince Temper to step aside with various promises and threats, he pointed out that he was there to oppose and make sure Jhenna would not enter Shadow, but should Jhenna choose, she could enter Temper's world. He warned Temper against the wiles of the Jaghut, and his warnings proved true, since all of this had been a ploy by the Jaghut to remove him from her way.Night of Knives, Chapter 5 He was on hand to see Kellanved enter Shadow and start familiarizing himself with the realm. He refused to take orders from him, saying that he was a Slave to the House. On Kellanved's assertions that he was in control, he recalled so many others who had done the same, reflecting that no one ever learned.Night of Knives, Epilogue In Return of the Crimson Guard Edgewalker appeared before the Crimson Guardsman, Shimmer, as she lay dying on the field of battle. He complained that the Battle of the Plains was "spilling over into Shadow and that I cannot allow. I want all of you gone." He sent Shimmer back to the living world, but not before revealing to her that the Guard's missing leader K'azz D'Avore still lived and was in Shadow.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 1, UK PB p.569-570 Later he agitatedly ejected the Clawmaster Possum as well as K'azz D'Avore, Kyle, and the Lost brothers for the same reason.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 2, UK PB p.592/606 In Stonewielder A Chaos Whorl drained Ixpcotlet, a great lake of Shadow whose shores were home to a settlement of Azalan demons. Least Branch and his fellow fishermen were forced to place their gigantic boats onto wheeled carts and search for another body of water. They also hoped to find Edgewalker, Guardian of Shadow, and ask him why he allowed their lake to be destroyed.Stonewielder, Chapter 6, UK TPB p.294-296 In Deadhouse Landing In the very early days of the formation of the Malazan Empire, Koro, a winged inhabitant of Shadow,Deadhouse Landing, Dramatis Personae became greatly upset because two repeat trespassers - Kellanved and Dancer - from outside the realm had escaped a Shadow Hound that had been hunting them. Koro went in search of Edgewalker - the guardian of Shadow - to inform him of this. Koro felt that Edgewalker especially needed to know about this because the pair had escaped by going through a sealed gate into the Scarred Lands which the Dal Hon mage had managed to open himself. Edgewalker was indifferent to this news and tried to make it clear that the Scarred Lands were not something for which he was responsible. Furious, Koro told Edgewalker that this was exactly the sort of thing that Edgewalker was supposed to be doing something about. Edgewalker responded by telling Koro that the flying creature had "no idea" what it was that the guardian 'did'. Because Edgewalker was not going to act, Koro told him that he should "at least set Telorast and Curdle upon them" - which the guardian refused to consider. Edgewalker then dismissed Koro's concerns and ordered him not to interfere - except at the guardian's direct command.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 7, US TPB p.134-135 In the midst of a Shadow Moon-like Convergence - whose focal point was evidently the Azath House of Malaz City, the Deadhouse - the Sister of Cold Nights spotted Edgewalker watching intently from Shadow itself - unseen by all the others present. At first, Edgewalker's attention was upon four Hounds of Shadow who were stalking the just-arrived Kellanved and Dancer - who were seemingly at the center of the Convergence. Edgewalker's apparent concern about the Hounds' threat to Kellanved and Dancer surprised the sorceress as the guardian had never been known to interfere in this way in the past. The Sister of Cold Nights remembered that some believed that Edgewalker was the "creator of Shadow itself". Then, the sorceress recalled a story that she had heard from a fellow Azathanai long ago: that Edgewalker had become tired of his role as the guardian of Shadow and had been "searching for a worthy inheritor all this time". The sorceress wondered if the Dal Hon mage could possibly be someone that Edgewalker was actually considering as a replacement. Kellanved, with some difficulty, was able not only to deal with the Hounds, but was also able to enter the Deadhouse with Dancer. The Sister of Cold Nights then noticed that Edgewalker had departed - having presumably come to some unknown conclusion.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 15, US HC p.299-304 Quotes Notes and references de:Randgänger Category:Males Category:Elder Gods Category:High House Shadow